


Acceptable Costs

by LalaithBeinia



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bugs & Insects, Dysfunctional Family, Flowey doesn't have the best plans, Gen, Possession, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 06:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8152280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LalaithBeinia/pseuds/LalaithBeinia
Summary: Nobody wants to stay in the Underground, least of all its self-proclaimed god. Possess the skeleton, kill the monsters, break the barrier: simple, right?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to my first ever fic! I hope you enjoy it. Let me know if there's anything else I should tag or if I mess up anywhere.

“knock knock.”  
  
“Who’s there?”  
  
“ash.”  
  
“Ash who?”  
  
“i better get going, you sound contagious.”  
  
The lady behind the door burst into ridiculous laughter, maybe even bleating. Sans took pride in making her laugh like that. Of course, the jokes were terrible, but if she liked them then that made them slightly less so.  
  
These daily meetings were doing a lot for Sans’ motivation. He hated his job. Going out into the cold every day, waiting for some poor kid to walk out and die… And then if they didn’t, it was just another day in the underground. Trapped beneath miles of dirt and rock. The suspense and anxiety never faded, even as the hope of escape did. Thank the Angel for this door in the forest, and the bad puns shared from either side.  
  
“honestly though, i gotta head off. Paps is gonna miss me soon. til next time, lady.”  
  
“I’ll see you tomorrow!”  
  
He dusted himself off and smiled as he followed his footprints back to Snowdin. Maybe he could catch Papyrus halfway and try out some of the lady’s jokes? His taller, louder, younger brother was another bright spot in the dark caves. Paps was always game for some friendly banter, as long as no one was watching. And even if he seemed frustrated by it in public, Sans knew that deep down he enjoyed sharing laughs with his lazy big bro.  
  
The skeleton was in a rare good mood, even humming to himself. Hell, he was even WALKING the whole way back to Snowdin! Usually he jumped at least to the cardboard sentry station, but today he wanted to take in the scenery. Sans felt the snow crunch under his shoes and watched clumps of it fall from the pine trees. His laces tangled on a tree root and he tripped, barely catching himself. Wait, that wasn’t a root…  
  
Was that a flower? No, not in the frozen ground here. It had to have been a root. Sans stood up, more cautious now. He felt more uneasy than falling could account for. The path was only a few feet away. He could take that for the rest of the way home.  
  
“SANS! THERE YOU ARE!”  
  
Sans jolted at the sudden sound but relaxed almost as quickly. “hey Papyrus. sorry to keep you waiting.”  
  
“WHAT WAS KEEPING YOU?”  
  
“nothing really, just enjoying the quiet. you know how i like to be a-bone.”  
  
The taller skeleton groaned, hands on his face to hide his smile. “AT LEAST YOU WERE BEING LAZY SOMEWHERE NEAR YOUR POST. I WAS GETTING WORRIED! LEAVE A NOTE OR SOMETHING NEXT TIME YOU WANDER AWAY!”  
  
“you got it bro.” Sans grinned. “sorry for being such a bonehead.”  
  
Papyrus buried his face even further, which was useless since his hands were mostly empty space between bones. The rest of the walk to Snowdin followed the same pattern, soothing the smaller skeleton’s nerves. By that night, he’d completely forgotten his short burst of paranoia.  
  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  
“knock knock.”  
  
“Who’s there?”  
  
“ash.”  
  
“Ash who?”  
  
Sans didn’t respond.  
  
“Hello?”  
  
“hey, sorry. thought i saw something." The woman started to respond but he cut her off. “im not feeling great. ill catch you later.”  
  
“I hope you feel better soon, my friend. Take care!” She sounded worried. She had plenty of reason; the skeleton wasn’t usually like this with her. He always enjoyed being here, trading some bad jokes with the mysterious voice behind the door.  
  
Today was different. There was a sense of foreboding in the air, a vague idea that something was off. He felt like he’d been through it before, and in this hellhole nothing was worse than repetition. Hopeless, useless, endless repetition.  
  
Sans teleported back to his station as soon as her footsteps faded. Something told him Papyrus would be there soon... He never showed.  
It was a good hour after Papyrus usually came to get him, and at least three since the vague premonitions said he should have been there. Something was wrong.  
  
The skeleton tried to stand and realized his arms were bound to the station. He snapped to full awareness to find his legs bound similarly, strapped down by vines. There was unfamiliar movement across his inner ribs, itching and tingling. He tried to tear his hands free and groaned in pain; it felt like he was ripping his marrow out.  
  
Sans reached for his magic and found nothing.  
  
“Howdy!”  
  
The voice came from inside his skull. He shook his head to clear it, but instead there was high-pitched giggling and a spike of pain. His head was rooted in place!  
  
“Relax, this is just a bad dream! And your old friend Flowey is here to help you through it.”  
  
A golden flower pushed out of Sans’ left eye. It was small, and disturbingly happy, like some illustration from one of Papyrus’ bedtime stories. Its face was indistinct, seeming to flicker between expressions more than form them. The plant life in Sans’ ribs constricted painfully for a moment, then returned to its disturbing shifting.  
  
“Don’t look at me like that! Come on, I’m here to help you.”  
  
Sans could barely talk around the leaves in his mouth. Everything that found its way around them sounded strangled. After a few false starts, he coughed out “what the hell are you?”  
  
“Really Sans, you don’t get it? I’m your best friend! Flowey!” It’s laughter was harsh and mocking, a sharp contrast to the cheery voice. “But that's not the point. Do you want the underground to ‘go empty’?” Flowey bobbed its head, adding air quotes to the last two words. Sans just stared.  
  
“Ugh, you’re one of THOSE captives. Fine. I’ll make this simple. I want out of here. You want out of here. We can help each other get out of here. Got it?”  
  
“i wouldnt be here if it werent for you.”  
  
“You’re not very bright, are you? I guess I can’t expect much from a skull this small. Maybe I’d be better off with someone else as a partner. Someone taller, louder, happier…”Its face switched into a terrifying parody of Papyrus’ smile as he positioned himself directly in front of Sans’ right eye. “I think I’d enjoy that.”  
  
The skeleton gritted his teeth and snarled, wrenching himself towards the flower. If he could get to his magic, he’d rip this pathetic buttercup to shreds. But he couldn’t. His eye didn’t even glow. He sank back against the tree, his entire body aching. Flowey had dug roots into his bones. Ripping him out would be near impossible.  
  
“I've never seen you this angry before! There might be hope for you after all. Luckily for me, as long as I’m here, I control when you can hurt people. Or do most other things,” the plant said. It punctuated the remark with a sharp prod to Sans’ SOUL. The skeleton’s hands dug into the wood of his counter to keep from screaming. When the pain stopped, he realized he’d torn a chunk of it off.  
  
“what do you want.” It was more a growl than a question.  
  
“Simple. I pilot your body, and we open the barrier! Of course, we’ll need some SOULs for that. You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. I know, I know, you can’t absorb monster SOULs. Don't worry, I have that covered. And if you do anything to slow me down, or stop me, or warn anyone, I start over with your brother. Got it?”  
  
Sans did his best to show no reaction. He had no defenses besides his magic, one hit point, and no idea what this thing was. And his brother was on the line.  
It wasn't much of a choice.  
  
“got it.”  
  
The plant switched back to its friendlier face. “Perfect! Boy, I missed working with a partner.”  
  
The vines holding Sans to the tree started unwinding and slowly lowered him to the ground. The shifting in his chest didn’t go with them, and neither did Flowey. The tiny flower seemed to be focusing on something intently. Its’ vines were tensed.  
  
After about a minute of nothing happening, Flowey jerked forward. Sans pitched a little but didn’t fall. The plant growled. “Move, you idiot!”  
  
Thank the Angel, Sans still held the reins physically.


End file.
